The following message is being sent via email to all families and staff on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.:

We want to share important updates to two Board of Education of Harford County policies—Portable Communication Devices and Student Backpack Use—approved by the Board of Education on June 9, 2025. These changes go into effect for the upcoming school year and are designed to support a safe and focused learning environment. 

Portable Communication Devices  

Students may bring cell phones, smartwatches, headphones, and other portable communication devices to school; however, their use is limited during the school day:  

• Elementary School: Devices must be deactivated and stored in student bookbags upon arrival.  

• Middle School: Devices must be deactivated and secured in lockers for the duration of the school day.   

• High School: Devices must be kept in the student’s locker and deactivated during class time.  

• Smartwatches and similar wearables may be worn but must remain deactivated at all grade levels.  

For more details and exceptions, please review the policy in its entirety via the attached document or on our website.   

Student Backpack and Bag Policy  

The updated backpack and bag policy outlines expectations for storage to ensure clear pathways, student safety, and emergency preparedness:  

• Bookbags do not need to be clear, but they must be stored appropriately. 

• Elementary School: Bookbags must be placed in designated classrooms or cubby areas upon arrival.  

• Middle and High School: Bookbags must be stored in lockers during the school day.  

• Students may carry a nontransparent bag no larger than 4.5x8.5-inch with them for personal hygiene purposes.  

• Athletic bags and musical instrument cases at all grade levels must be taken directly to the appropriate storage areas upon arrival and not carried throughout the school day.   

For more details and exceptions, please review the policy in its entirety via the attached document or on our website.    

What Families Should Do  

• Review these updated policies with your student before the first day of school.  

• Make sure your child knows where and how to store their devices and bags.    

Both policies will be actively enforced at the start of the school year. 

Thank you for your partnership in helping maintain safe, organized, and distraction-free schools. 

Sincerely, 
Dr. Aaron Poynton 
President, Board of Education of Harford County 

Summer Break is upon us! Before students leave for the summer, we want to share that HCPS will use a new communications system, effective July 1, 2025, for:   

• Phone calls  

• Emails  

• Text messages  

• HCPS App  

• School websites   

Here’s what you can do now to be ready! 

• Delete the existing HCPS app on your phone. 

• Delete school websites you’ve bookmarked. 

• Keep an eye out for our first message via the new system to set your preferences. 

Click here to download the new app on your Android or Apple device. You’ll see it’s still a work in progress but will be fully live July 1.  

Also on July 1, you will see your school’s new website. Bookmark the new site for easy access to important school information. You will find the links available on our website, hcps.org, on July 1.  

Phone calls and emails will come from the same phone number and email address. Text messages will come from “98900” starting July 1. The first text you receive through this new system will include legal wording that may appear as spam. A screen shot of what this message will look like is attached to this email so you can rest assured it is a message from HCPS and not spam.  

You will receive a phone call, email, and text message with our first communication in the new system. You will have the opportunity to opt out of any form of communication you do not wish to receive moving forward. Don’t forget- if you opt out, you won’t receive those “snow day” messages! 

Home Access Center, or HAC, will not be available from July 8 through August 23, 2025, as we prepare information systems for the new school year.

If you need to access to information on HAC, such as report cards, please ensure you do so before July 8, 2025.

HCPS Seniors: if you have not already done so, submit your final transcript request to your school counselor by Wednesday, June 18 as access to Naviance will end on June 30, 2025.

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